Never fade
by Not Just a Nerd
Summary: This love will never fade; it keeps coming back like a tiny drop of that diluted acid in the chemistry lab and scorches his mind. *Jalex* One-shot.


Disclaimer: I do not own WOWP.

Warning: No happy ending. Who hates me? :p

"**True love never dies."- Popular saying.**

* * *

He is walking down the streets of Waverly Place again. The place has changed so much in the last ten years! The buildings are taller, there are more shops, and the streets are crowded with too many people, and their cars. He has to push his way through the crowd and walk to his destination.

He is studying the city where he grew up, a few tears appearing on his eyes as the memories flash. He is looking here and there, trying to engulf as much of it as he can, and trying to spot a known face, but in a city like New York, that's impossible. (He knows this, duh! - his heart doesn't.)

And that's when he sees her again.

There's no fluttering in the stomach anymore, his heart doesn't even skip a beat, his breathing is still even, and he is sure the feelings are all gone by now. But then, he notices that he is frozen at that place, the crowds passing him, bumping into him, some giving him an annoyed glance before running ahead, some muttering a curse under their breath, and some others simply ignoring him.

She is wearing a black tight-fitting jeans, a white t-shirt, and a half-jacket over it. Her hair is longer, and tied up in a ponytail. There is still minimal make-up on her face, and she still looks gorgeous.

He just stands there and stares at her, wondering if he should go and talk to her. And then he sees the person beside her. Her husband.

That's when he turns around and runs away, before the pain crawls back into his mind again.

* * *

"Honey, you need to catch up with your sister! Don't act stubborn like you did when you were a kid!"

His mother scolds him for a good thirty minutes, and he is finally convinced that talking to her is a far better option than listening to his mother's complains forever. So he's sitting on the couch in his hotel room with his cell phone in his hand, ready to text her. It's funny how he's too afraid to call her. They talked every day from the day she learnt to speak till ten years back. (He spoke to her since the day she was born, but she couldn't speak back to him, so he's sure that it doesn't count as 'talking'.)

The thing is, he doesn't know what to say. He hasn't talked to her for ten years, and he isn't sure if there are too many words to say or if there is nothing left to say.

He finally decides to go with a simple 'how are you'. He adds his name at the end of the text, just in case she doesn't remember his number (and he tries not to think about that possibility too much.)

He's waiting for her reply. The usual anxiety is missing. He is not checking his phone every other minute even though it isn't beeping, like he used to before. He is simply curious now. He knows the chances. In the worst case, she won't reply at all.

A reply comes within 10 minutes though.

"_I am fine… how are you?" _

He is relieved, and a bit happy, but this time, there's no goofy grin in his face. He is getting his hopes high again- maybe he _was_ able to move on!

"_I am fine too…I am here on business… I think we should catch up." _

This time, 15 minutes has passed and there still hasn't been any reply. He has given up all hopes- almost. He is not upset, but there's this restlessness and crumbling feeling in his chest. He tells himself it is better this way. It is better if she doesn't reply.

And that's when she replies. (Really, when did she ever do what he wanted her to do? But right now, he's not really sure what he wants her to do.)

"_Sure… where and when?"_

A few more texts are exchanged back and forth between them, and an appointment is set up. He's not excited, nor nervous. There's no feeling at all. Ten years has taught him to be indifferent.

(He fails to delete the texts. He isn't going over them again and again like he used to, but still… Perhaps knowing he has a bit of something as her memory is comforting?)

* * *

He's sitting at the table booked for them, waiting for her to come, and hoping she wouldn't bail out in the last moment. He isn't too excited to meet her, no, not at all, and he's sure he won't be disappointed if she doesn't come. But he just wants to see his little sister once again.

She comes five minutes late, and waves at him.

He waves back, smiling, and she walks up to their table and takes her seat.

"Hey", she greets, her voice so different, so soft, so woman-like.

"Hey", he greets back, his voice more heavy and thick than before.

"Wow… you look… _different_… you can almost pass off as cool." She says, observing his face carefully.

"Umm… thanks… you have grown up a lot too." He says, smiling slightly.

"So… how's everything at home?" she asks gently.

"Everything's great", he says, pulling out his wallet and showing her the picture of his family.

"Wow… the kids are growing up." She says, taking the wallet from his hand and looking at the picture closely. "And Juliet looks… older."

He nods. "She has decided to age with me."

"That's awesome..." she smiles, as she hands him back his wallet. "Mason has decided to age with me too…"

There's no sudden stinging in his heart anymore, his eyes are still calm, and he nods softly. "The kids must be grown up now…"

She laughs. "They are driving me crazy! Jake's 5. Jane's 3."

"I know…" he says, smiling. (He does keep track of time.) "So… order something."

"Right." She agrees, looking at the pictures in the menu.

He watches her in amusement. Some things about her have still not changed, and he still knows her, recognizes her- she's not a complete stranger to him.

She looks up at him and smiles. "Yes, I still hate reading. Is that so shocking?"

He shakes his head. "No. Not at all."

They place their orders and wait for it to arrive, talking about their jobs- his books, and her arts. They don't talk about magic though. They are glad they gave up their powers to marry their other halves, and they don't see any point in bringing up the topic again.

When the food arrives, they eat, talking about their family- their father, their mother, their brother and his wife, his kids, his latest disasters with magic. They laugh at times, remembering certain incidents of their childhood and teen age. _Those were the days…_

Her hair is graying, and his hairline is thinning at the front. They have both gained a couple of pounds. That's how much time has passed.

When the meal is over (and time passes too soon), they are ready to leave.

"I will get you a cab." He offers sweetly.

"Umm, no, I live close, remember? I will just walk… don't worry, it's okay." She assures.

He looks at her skeptically, but gives in without further words.

"Bye Alex." He greets, extending his hand forward for a handshake.

"Bye Justin." She greets back, taking his hand and shaking it.

And then they turn to the opposite sides and start walking, with no hugs, no 'I miss you', no 'take care', no 'see you again'.

He is walking ahead, trying not to glance back and catch a last glimpse of her, trying not to think about her, trying not to remember that this is probably the last goodbye. But really, these thoughts just automatically come into his mind. He was taught battle spells, but nobody taught him how to fight feelings. (Nobody knows that either. If anyone knew how to fight feelings, this world would be such a better place, with no heart-broken people like him.)

The disappointment is finally setting in; tears are finally welling up in the corner of his eyes. (He looks at all the smoke coming from the vehicles and tries to convince himself that it's just his allergies, but really, he's just too bad at lying, even to himself.)

He remembers his days in the High School, when he took chemistry. The strength of diluted acids was much less than that of the concentrated ones, but they still scorched his skin, even if a tiny bit.

This love is like that. It grows old, it stops haunting him. But it never fades; it keeps coming back like a tiny drop of that diluted acid in the chemistry lab and scorches his mind.

This love will never fade.

* * *

(A/N: This was kind of sad and mindless I guess? I know, I am a bit pissed off now. Disney India will air WOWP at 2 a.m on weeknights, so obviously I can't watch jalex on TV anymore :( Edit: Or maybe my Tv schedule was just messing with me, LOL... I still tried to get the emotions right. Hope you enjoyed this. Please leave a review!)


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